company history
The Gaertner Scientific Corporation
began as a small scientific shop established by William Gaertner in 1896 on
Chicagoís Southside. The company, originally known as Wm. Gaertner &
Co., manufactured astronomical and astrophysical measuring instruments for
the Yerkes Observatory and interferometers for Professors Michelson andStratton at the University of Chicago.

In 1923 the company constructed a new building at 1201 Wrightwood Ave on Chicagoís Northside and
incorporated under the name of Gaertner Scientific Corporation. During this
period the Toolmakers microscope, precision slides and the polarizing
spectrometer (ellipsometer) were developed. When Mr. Gaertner passed away in
1949 at the age of 84 he left the company in a trust to the University of
Chicago for a period of 20 years.In
1969 the company was sold to American Machine & Science Inc. of Elgin,
Illinois who in turn sold it to the present management in 1978.
The company has since relocated to newer facilities in Skokie, Illinois
just outside of Chicago.

Since itís founding, the company has been continuously engaged
in the design and manufacture of a variety of
precision scientific instruments intended for use in research, industrial,
educational and government laboratories. Our main products are
ellipsometers for thin film measurement, measuring microscopes for
dimensional measurements as well as other specialized optical instruments.We are proud of our past accomplishments, our long commitment to
quality instrumentation and of our many satisfied customers worldwide.